2026 Hawaii Open State Championship - Recap

Sep 11

This past Labor Day weekend (September 5th-7th), the Hawaii Chess Federation hosted the 2026 Hawaii Open State Chess Championship at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, sponsored by the UH Mānoa Math Department. The tournament boasted record-breaking attendance, with 98 participants in the main event and another 65 in the Blitz State Championship!

After a grueling three days of competition, three players tied for first place in the Open section, earning them the titles of Co-State Champions: Gabriel White, Eric Mui, and Skylor Chan all scored 4.0 out of 5.0. In the Reserve Under 1500 section, Micah Wilson turned in a dominant performance with a perfect score of 5.0, earning him the title of Under 1500 State Champion. Competing in his first OTB tournament, Marius Russell won the Under 800 section in convincing fashion with a perfect score of 5.0, earning him the title of Under 800 State Champion.

On the final day of competition, 65 players gathered for the Blitz State Championship, our largest ever Blitz championship by far. The tournament consisted of six double Swiss System rounds, or 12 total games, played at a time control of G/5+2 (5 minutes per player with a 2-second increment after each move). Competitors ranged from unrated players competing in their first tournament to experienced veterans to former state champions. After 12 thrilling games of blitz chess, National Master Paul Iinuma claimed first place with an incredible score of 10.5 out of 12.0, earning him the title of State Blitz Chess Champion for the second year in a row. Congratulations to our new State Champions, and well-played to all of our participants!

Click here for the official USCF rating report

We also announced the kick-off of our 2026-27 scholastic chess year, with our first scholastic tournament scheduled for Saturday, September 26th, at Washington Middle School. Please check out our events calendar for more details on upcoming tournaments. We look forward to another exciting year of chess in Hawaii and we hope to see you at the boards!